Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- 2 A time to give birth, and a time to die… 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor-- it is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.

In the cycle of death, there is also a cycle of life. Where there is pain, there is also joy. This past week, we had a sonogram on the twins that my wife is carrying. It turns out that we have a boy and the other…a mystery. Just too shy and hiding from us. I think, this is God’s way of just answering my questions. Surely He knows better for “His ways thoughts are greater than my thoughts and His ways are higher than mine.” (Isa 55). In this cycle of life & death, pain & joy, I think the following quote from Dr Bruce Waltke & Dr Chuck Swindoll said makes sense. When asked why God allows us to go through sufferings and difficult times, Dr Waltke said, “I've come to the place where I believe only on rare occasions does God tell us why, so I've decided to stop asking.” Chuck Swindoll adds, “And even if He did explain His reasons, I would seldom understand. His ways are higher and far more profound than our finite minds can comprehend. So I now accept God's directions and I live with them as best as I can.”

Pain

Was Solomon right in saying that life is just a journey filled with pointless hard work and endless worries?
A marriage on the rocks, a loved one in sickness, financial insecurity, just to list a few! With these endless problems, it seems that life is just a crisis away from being a disaster. Recently, I received news that my grandmother was diagnosed with late stage cancer and I was gutted. The last few years that I spent in the US, whether in seminary or serving as a pastor, seems like borrowed time. Each time I call home, there seems to be a crisis or disaster – from my Dad’s stroke, his heart attack, my grandmother’s numerous brushes with death, my parents’ auto accident, my arrest warrants for some silly reasons, amongst others. It seems better if I just do not call home… well, I am just living in denial. Surely, the Lord who said, “All things work for the good of those who love Him, those who are called according to His purpose,” (Ro 8:28) knows better! I am worried for my grandmother, not so much for her earthly life for she has lived a long and full life, but for her eternal destiny. Surely the Lord knows my cries over the last decade for her soul.

My friends, I don’t know what you may be experiencing today, but know that our lives are not just a string of coincidences and uncontrolled events put together by a cosmic accident. Today, I find comfort in knowing, Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.